Gintech Energy Corp (昱晶), Taiwan’s biggest solar cell maker by sales, expects shipments this year to more than double as global demand for renewable energy surges.
Shipments of cells used in panels that turn sunlight into electricity will probably rise to 800 megawatts this year from 368 megawatts last year, Becky Yu (俞華), a spokeswoman at the Miaoli-based company, said at a forum in Taipei yesterday.
One megawatt can power about 800 US homes.
Global sales of solar panels will almost double this year as developers seek to install systems and benefit from government incentives, according to market researcher iSuppli.
Panel installations may rise 20 percent a year globally as declining costs spur demand, Yu said.
“There’s an abnormal surge this year in installations,” Yu said. “There won’t be an oversupply, as the market for solar power is huge.”
Gintech’s annual capacity may rise to 1.65 gigawatts next year, from a projected 930 megawatts by the end of this year, Yu said.
The company expects capacity to reach 2.2 gigawatts in 2013, Gintech chairman Wenent Pan (潘文炎) said in July.
The solar cell maker started shipping modules last month from a plant in northern Taiwan, Yu said.
The 50 megawatt-a-year facility can be used to “verify the performance” of Gintech’s solar cells, she said.
Prices of solar power systems could fall by 5 to 10 percent a year as technology advances and global production increases, Yu said.
Gintech shares fell 0.8 percent to close at NT$89.90 yesterday, underperforming the TAIEX, which dropped 0.03 percent.
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